At our St Andrew’s Day Dinner a few week ago, we were honoured to welcome Andrew Wilson as a 2025 Honorary Fellow. Andrew, an economist with extensive experience across the private, public and third sectors, has built a distinguished career as a consultant and adviser to major corporations, public institutions, charities and high-profile individuals.
He has previously held senior roles at The Scottish Government, RBS and WPP, and was a founding partner of strategic communications consultancy Charlotte Street Partners. Earlier in his career, he was elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament in 1999.
Andrew is a non-executive director and trustee across several boards, a long-standing supporter of Motherwell Football Club, and a valued advocate of The Marketing Society Scotland, where he has also chaired the Amplify Debate.
On the night, Andrew delivered an inspiring address on optimism in marketing, and we are delighted to be able to share his speech.
Thank you so much to the Marketing Society for this Honour which means a great deal to me. More than you might imagine.
All through my career I have been mesmerised and motivated by creative people and their work. It is special and so a society of creatives is extra special.
This industry wakes up optimistic
This industry wakes up happy
This industry relishes complexity and problems to solve
This industry enjoys the opportunity to engage and enlighten
This industry is funny and the world needs us more than ever. In a world where it is difficult to see a way forward at times we need creatives to find the way.
I have been many things in my career, but only recently have I led a marketing team of world class ability at Santander UK working with some outstanding agencies.
Leonardo Da Vinci once said that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”.
I think Maurice Saatchi leaned on that thought when he created the tag for M&C Saatchi “Brutal Simplicity of Thought”.
I remember as I was leaving RBS after the banking crisis standing with the CEO of M&C the wonderful Moray Maclennan as I anticipated a move to WPP. He said you will love it, marketing people are just happier. How right he was.
We are at a moment where we need to stop looking elsewhere and up the way for ideas and leadership that will propel us collectively to a better place. It starts with us. We need to simplify the complexity of the world and how to traverse its problems and opportunities or others will simplify it instead – and not in a good way. Politics cannot cope with the moment we are in, iphones, social media, algorithms and all the problems we face – politics cannot cope.
In business and in government and in any walk of life;
The most important thing, is to make the most important thing, the most important thing.
Who better than marketeers to figure it out?
Einstein said that “creativity is intelligence having fun” – this is what you all do for a living.
So enjoy the night, well done the winners and my fellow fellows.
And as I look on a sea of velvet may I close with the clever thoughts of another man with a penchant for velvet. Oscar Wilde:
“Be yourself, everyone else is taken”!
In life we must never forget that, “Be yourself, everyone else is taken”.
Thank you all so much.
